Invisible Friedkins blasted by Everton Insider - 'that's why four deals collapsed at once'

Everton need to make changes to how they operate in the transfer market after the club failed to bring in a new striker on deadline day.

That is according to former Toffees chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that The Friedkin Group’s lack of involvement is a key factor in these deals falling through.

David Moyes’ side find themselves in a precarious position between now and the winter transfer window after they sold Beto without bringing in a replacement striker on deadline day.

As a result, Thierno Barry is the club’s only recognised senior striker, with this issue unlikely to be resolved until the next transfer window.

Everton had been pursuing a deal for Folarin Balogun. However, the Monaco striker walked away from a deal at the last minute, which has left the club in an awful situation.

As a result, chief executive Angus Kinnear and owners, The Friedkin Group, have now faced plenty of criticism for their mishandling of the transfer window, which could negatively impact the Toffees’ campaign.

Everton insider calls for changes to transfer strategy after deadline day failure

Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – has labelled Everton’s transfer model “not fit for purpose” after the disaster on deadline day.

Supporters are no doubt furious, especially as the club looked to sell Harrison Armstrong to Nottingham Forest before fan pressure forced them to pull out of the deal.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained why the owners have to take a more hands-on approach to the transfer window.

He said: “Angus (Kinnear), as chief executive, has to take some responsibility and take the blame for this because, as chief executive, he is the one who has to put that structure in place, and he has to convince the owners that this is the right structure and that they have to listen to him. 

“So if there is a vacuum, then it's very unhealthy. Having three or four deals fall through at around midnight shows that an owner is not involved. That's exactly the vacuum that is happening that causes these things to go wrong. 

“When an owner is hands-on, as we've seen in Hull, as a good example on deadline day, things get done. And I've been there before; things get done because you just have a quick decision. 

“Agents aren't waiting for clubs to go away and consult with three levels of ownership. I'm afraid these things have to be almost minute-by- minute decisions that have to be made, and they're crucial, and that's what transfer windows are all about. 

“So it does appear that what Everton have got is not fit for purpose. Every level of that transfer network has to look at themselves this morning, know they've failed and immediately make some changes in how things are getting done.

"But it does lead to some bigger questions though as to how good are the Friedkin in terms of the transfer situation of actually managing the club going forward, while they've been incredibly good about stabilizing the club financially and handling the finances and getting that going. Are they really good at day-to-day ownership of the club? And that's still a question mark."

Can Thierno Barry remain injury-free at Everton?

The biggest task Moyes now faces at Everton this season is keeping Barry injury-free.

Luckily for the Toffees, when examining his professional career, the striker is yet to be out for a sustained period due to a knock.

Therefore, if this trend continues, the Merseyside club should be able to reach January with just Barry.

However, it remains to be seen if the striker will remain in form throughout this period.